#DefendCville: Community Responds to Alt-Right Violence

3: 23 PM: Multiple reports saying that a female protester has died. Member of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union.

2: 39 PM: Report from the ground says that upwards of 11 people have been injured in a coordinated attack from neo-Nazis on a passing march. All have been taken to hospital and several are in critical condition.

1: 50 PM: Neo-Nazis have run over several people in the crowd as they have tried to speed away in their vehicles and clashes continue through the city. Multiple reports of injuries by Charlottesville citizens who have been hit by cars driven by neo-Nazis. By and large, most of the people on the streets opposing them are Charlottesville locals, many of color. Predictably, the leaders of the Unite the Right rally quickly fled the area, leaving the rank and file members of movement to fend for themselves. Richard Spencer tweeted out that he encouraged people to get out of city limits. Spencer also recorded a video with his shirt off threatening the Mayor and Charlottesville City Council, claiming that the ACLU was on his side. Media largely circulating photos and short interviews of neo-Nazis doing and saying Nazi things; even Donald Trump issued a slight condemnation of the rally over Twitter. Some of the neo-Nazis have also regrouped at another park, where Spencer is complaining and whining. The new smaller rally is taking place miles away from where the original rally was supposed to be held. Counter-protesters have taken over Emancipation Park and have held an impromptu rally there.

12: 04 PM: As in Berkeley, Portland, and in Charlottesville several weeks ago, the police have allowed the neo-Nazi rally to happen with minimal interference and at great threat to the surrounding community, and are now concentrating on dispersing remaining protesters.

11: 30 AM: Clashes have already broken out in the streets of Charlottesville and riot police are staged across town but seem totally absent from the clashes. Instead, militia groups are providing security for a growing crowd of neo-Nazis. Clery groups are locking arms in front of the park and antifascists are clashing with neo-Nazis. Pepper spray on both sides.

Friday, August 11th: Last night, over 500 neo-Nazis carried out a torch lit march which left from a field at the UVA campus to a statue of Thomas Jefferson statue, and then attacked a small group of about 20 counter-demonstrators chanting “Black Lives Matter” along with several livestreamers. As the Nazis marched they chanted Nazi Party slogans like, “Blood and Soil,” and “Jews will not replace us!,” did Nazi salutes and shouted racial slurs. Police on the scene did nothing to stop the attack and later only intervened to declare an unlawful assembly and drive the counter-protesters out of the park.

The violence comes after a several days of death threats from the Alt-Right and harassment of local churches and businesses. In the lead up to the Unite the Right rally, neo-Nazis began threatening local politicians and organizers, and neo-Nazi and Alt-Right websites encouraged people to bring concealed weapons and firearms. On Friday during the day, Chris Cantwell, a speaker at Unite the Right, was forced to leave a local WalMart by police for brandishing a gun in the parking lot.

During the lead up, the City of Charlottesville had done everything in its power to work with the neo-Nazis in an attempt to maintain order, thinking that if it can work with one group, it can control the whole situation, and taking the word of the Alt-Right in good faith that it will be non-violent. So far, we’ve seen how that strategy has played out. Meanwhile, the Governor has issued threats to citizens to stay clear of the protests and that the National Guard is on standby. Meanwhile, most liberals and journalists are encouraging people to ignore the growing neo-Nazi threat in the hopes that it will go away.

On Friday, August 11th, liberals across the US got their answer and a wake up call. Over 500 neo-Nazis took to the streets and attacked a group of unarmed and nonviolent protests who locked arms around a statue. Ignoring them didn’t work. Being peaceful didn’t work. The State and power structure didn’t ‘listen to reason,’ they did everything they could do allow this to happen. The police were clearly on the side of the fascists. Time to wake the fuck up.

It’s Going Down is a digital community center from anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.

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It's Going Down is a digital community center from anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.